Today, I am slowly getting to the end of the #Actctober2021 Tarot Challenge hosted by @GlitterbyInk and @LivingJivaWell
The prompt: Today, how will I act with resilience?
Deck: The Slow Tarot by Lacey Bryant
Right back at the beginning of this challenge I sat down and wrote a full list of cards for each daily prompt. I’ve been working from that list and consulting the Tarot for supplementary cards to dig deeper into my thoughts and feelings around each prompt. It’s been a fascinating process for me as it has led me to a deeper and more personal understanding of some of these cards as we’ve moved through the challenge.
When I saw resilience towards the end of the month I just knew I had to write about the 5 and 7 of Swords from Lacey Bryant’s beautiful Slow Tarot deck.
You could say that she had me at the 5 of Swords.
This card was my very first glimpse of the Slow Tarot (I think I must have been doing images searches for the 5 of Swords) and I was mesmerised. I bought the deck for this one card. Does anyone else do that?
The 5 and 7 of Swords are for me two of the most fascinating in the deck. Their meaning shifts from deck to deck, from seeker to seeker, situation to situation. For some, these are two of the most challenging cards in the deck.
But, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? More resilient.
5 of Swords
The Tarot 5s are all about challenge, change and very often hardship. The events, dilemmas, the tricky situations and people that life throws at us. The things we must go through, face up to and ultimately survive and let pass.
This rendition of the 5 of Swords seems to me to flip the dynamic of the card as it is often represented in other decks. In a card generally associated with defeat, here I see someone, not just picking up the pieces after the battle, but fighting back, taking control, reclaiming her boundaries. A revenant angel meeting out some kind of swift justice on a now deserted battlefield.
For me, this card says “I’ve been here before and I know how to deal with the likes of you”
She’s unf*ckwithable.
And what of her conquest? Is he dead, playing dead, or just prostrate on the ground, surrendering to a superior force?
And she is a force to be reckoned with. I like to think that she lets him off, with a and small nick to the neck, on the proviso that he returns to his camp with a clear warning for others who might have any ideas about violating her boundaries.
That message: Don’t f*ck with me…
(or mine).
7 of Swords
The Tarot 7s speak of persistence, tenacity, endurance and resilience. Meeting and surviving life’s challenges. Victory – whether that be by force, treachery, cunning, reasoned argument or gentle persuasion.
It’s also worth noting that the 7s fall under The Chariot VII (key 7 of the Major Arcana) which seems to be the ultimate card of resilience… now that I think of it. Ruled by Cancer, a sign known for putting up a hard exterior, the Chariot speaks of will, determination, unwavering focus and letting nothing stand in the way.
The 7s come with a warning, though. Victory. But at what cost? Do the ends justify the means?
The 7 of Swords is associated with trickery, thievery and deception. When I see this card in a reading I ask myself who is the victim here? And who is the villain? Is this someone making an escape from a bad situation or is it just what it looks like… a robbery in progress? In both scenarios, they leave something behind, taking only what they can carry or what they can get away with in that moment – perhaps cutting their losses.
Sometimes you’ve got to look out for number one.
But that strategy should also be tempered with compassion and, of course, forgiveness. Resilience seems to me to be in part about being able to move on.
How will I act with resilience today?
This combination of cards tells quite a hard personal story for me – of poor boundaries, enduring, surviving…. and then of getting brave, getting a bit tougher, standing up for myself and making a hard break. But not breaking. It didn’t kill me, it made me stronger.
Not such an uncommon story, really.
One thing I’ve learned is that I am pretty resilient. And that’s pretty much hard-wired into my family anyway.
Today, when I fall down, I pick myself up again and I am stronger and more resilient than before. I act for myself and others with courage, compassion, love and forgiveness.
